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Steve Jobs bought a new identical Porsche every six months for decades and this is why

Steve Jobs bought a new identical Porsche every six months for decades and this is why

The Apple co-founder was a huge Porsche fan - reportedly leasing a brand-new car every six months.

Steve Jobs was well-known for being an exacting kind of guy.

The Apple co-founder pretty much lived in one outfit - jeans and a black turtleneck - and compared to modern billionaires and their yachts, penthouses and more, he didn't seem like that much of a flashy big spender.

But it would seem like he made an interesting exception in one area: cars.

Justin Sullivan / Staff / Getty

While that might lead you to think that he had a secret collection of Koenigseggs or Lamborghinis, it's actually more precise than that - very much like his approach to his wardrobe.

As reported by Supercarblondie, it would seem that Jobs spent years leasing a brand-new car every six months, an extravagance that has a really specific explanation.

This wasn't his way of ensuring that his cars always worked perfectly, or indeed part of some plan to always be on the cutting edge - after all, he'd get the same car every time.

He reportedly started with a Porsche 911 in black, getting a new one every six months for over a decade, before he changed to a Mercedes-Benz SL 55 and did the same moving forward.

This was all down to a very particular law in California at the time, which allowed new cars to take up to six months on the road before they legally had to put a license plate on.

Martyn Lucy / Contributor / Getty

So if Jobs was always driving a car that was less than six months old, he wouldn't have to have a license plate and would be able to avoid anyone noting it down and being able to track him down that way, whether that might be journalists or fans.

Needless to say, this weird loophole (which could only really be exploited by someone with plenty of cash) has since been closed, but Jobs apparently took advantage of it for years.

In fact, a system that would allow modern billionaires to avoid license plates would doubtless be hugely popular in the here and now, too, in a world where social media can track them down pretty much instantly.

Meanwhile, since Jobs' death in 2011, Apple has been widely reported to be working on a secret car project of its own, one that has been constantly beset by delays and may never see the light of day. Still, eventually we could actually be driving Apple cars around - or be driven by them, even.

Featured Image Credit: Sean Gallup / Staff / NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty